Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
Toll Free: 800-234-6575
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Henry County is getting its feet wet in the world of instant communication.
“This is an instant world,” Deputy County Administrator Tim Hall said. “You need to be able to stick your foot into it.”
The county did “a soft roll-out” (unadvertised startup) of its newly created Facebook page six weeks ago, and it officially launched the site last week, Hall said.
Facebook is a social networking site on the Web. People create profiles, post information and pictures, reconnect with old friends and make new ones, and connect with family and others by exchanging information on the site.
But Facebook is not limited to individuals.
Corporations and nonprofit agencies are using the free site more and more. In most cases, those entities create “fan pages” rather than personal pages, Hall said. After checking the pages of other localities, including Roanoke and Salem, Hall said he patterned Henry County’s page as a fan page.
For those with Facebook pages, they can become a fan of the site, which means they will receive updates and other information posted and may leave comments, he said.
“This is just another way to get information out and receive feedback,” Hall said.
He got the idea to create a page after realizing how his 14-year-old daughter and other young people communicate with friends. Teens and young adults often prefer Facebook or instant message sites and text messaging rather than a telephone call or a fax, Hall said.
So far, the page has 199 fans, he said. The early popularity reinforces the notion that Facebook and other social networking sites are the preferred method of communication among young people, he added.
“I think it also shows the connection between” the community and those who grew up here and left to attend college, Hall said.
A function on the Facebook site provides information such as the number of members, where they are from and other data, Hall said, adding he was “pleasantly surprised” at the number of college students from the area who have become fans. They include a graduate of Laurel Park High School who now lives in Australia. Other states — including Alaska, New Mexico, North Carolina and, of course, Virginia — also are represented, he said.
Of the fan base, 24 percent are in the 18-24 age group and 68 percent are female, Hall said. Several colleges are represented, including James Madison University, the University of Richmond, Christopher Newport University, William and Mary College, Randolph College and Mary Baldwin College, he said.
“It is interesting .... You always hear that kids want to get out of town” and not return, he said. “This data shows they want to be connected to their community. ... They obviously have a connection to Henry County and want to maintain that connection.”
The county is considering setting up a page on Twitter, Hall said. There, up to 140 characters of information (called “tweets”) can be sent instantly to those who follow the page.
To go to the county’s Facebook page, type “Henry County, Virginia” into the Facebook search engine or click on a link on the county’s Web page, www.henrycountyva.gov.
Other local entities on Facebook include the Martinsville Mustangs, Martinsville Uptown, Activate Martinsville Henry County, Martinsville Virtual Referral Network, I grew up in Martinsville Va., Martinsville-Henry County Community Initiative and Martinsville Henry County Coalition of Health and Wellness. |
| |
|
|
.jpg)
.jpg)